“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15-16 NIV)

“You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Ex 19:6 NIV)

“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” (Rev 1:5-6 NIV)

These verses are so powerful, especially since they are not a requirement, but a promise directly from God. We are to become holy as God is holy, priests of the Lord Most High. We are to broadcast through each and every one of our actions what it means to be a child of God.

This is true especially when we are with our own children.

One thing I have learned in life is to leave the scheduling to God. And why not? Doesn’t He know what is ultimately best for us?

While at Kingdom Bound, a Christian festival, with my two sons, I tried to plan our activities based on their interests, and here we sat listening to what I thought would be a 15 minute power sermon in the PAC. I planned to bring my boys to an awesome uplifting Christian concert afterwards.

The 15 minutes stretched into an hour, for the preacher, Reggie Dabbs had us all in the palm of his hand. His message was too powerful to walk away from. Using music and drama to illustrate his words, he had the attention of the whole audience, teenagers included. Even more importantly, we could feel the presence of God’s Spirit in our midst.

The message touched us to the core. God is the one who sets us free, clean us up and accepts us fully, a message that every child of God should take to heart.

There was a moment though where I had to make a choice. I could either leave the PAC to bring my kids to the concert, which was as I had planned it, or I could let God’s Spirit take over the evening. As the priest to my family, it was immediately clear that there was only one choice: Anything that could help my kids grow closer to the One who is madly in love with them was the only option. The concert probably was uplifting as well, but God wanted us to be here.

In life we have many choices, but as priests of the Most High, letting our choices be filtered by God’s guiding Holy Spirit shouldn’t be seen as simply one of many options. Instead it should be seen as the best alternative, the best opportunity to shine.

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity…” (Eph 5:15-16 NIV)

The question we need to keep in mind: Will we be there for those in need? Will we be there for our own kids? We can only do that by relying on God in all things for guidance.

Prayer: “Thank you Lord for guiding us in all things. Please remind us constantly that with You at our side, we will always make the best choices possible. Thank you for always being there for us. We love you. Amen”

Rob Chaffart

(To access the entire “The Heart of the Matter” devotional series, please click here.)